When it was first rolled out three years ago, the Audi Q7 performance SUV immediately achieved a leadership position – as a sporty, comfortable as well as high-performance recreational and business vehicle on a grand scale. Now Audi is making it even better – more elegant and more efficient, with lower emissions: the Q7 3.0 TDI consumes only 9.1 liters per 100 kilometers (25.85 US mpg). And now it’s also available in a new version as a TDI clean diesel, with the world’s cleanest diesel technology and even lower fuel consumption of only 8.9 liters/100 km (26.43 US mpg).
The Q7 is the large Audi for sporty individualists, for people who are seeking a vehicle that will take them anywhere they want to go for sports, recreation, and business. Its dynamic proportions and distinctive lines express this character, and subtle modifications endow its styling with even more elegance.
The design: The language of dynamics
At the front end, the large single-frame radiator grille has been redesigned. Vertical chrome bars contrast with its black high-gloss finish. The bumpers too have been restyled. Their lower section is now painted in a contrasting black or gray, depending on the body color. The newly integrated underbody protection in the center section of the bumper has a distinctive ribbed design.
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As alternatives to the standard halogen headlights, Audi offers a xenon plus variant and a new adaptive-light system that integrates not only low-beam, high-beam and a special superhighway beam but also turning and cornering lights. In conjunction with the xenon headlights, light-emitting diodes assembled to form U-shaped bands provide the daytime running lights. The front blinkers are also composed of LEDs as straight-line arrays, located at the upper edge of the air intakes.
The side view too, with its coupe-like roofline, low window area and tautly curved body surfaces, reinforces the dynamic look of the Q7. Door moldings have been modified to add interest. The lightweight alloy wheels are size 7.5 J x 18, the wheels size 235/60. In the V6 vehicles they have seven spokes, in the V8 versions they have six in size 8 J x 18.
At the rear end, the bumper has also been given two-tone paintwork; the tailgate, which includes a portion of the rear pillars in an S-shaped contour, has been given a new and distinctively 3D shape in the vicinity of the license plate bracket. To reduce the weight of the Q7, the tailgate has been made of aluminum, as have the engine hood and the fenders. Standard LEDs in the tail lights create a distinctive lighting pattern.
Eleven paint finishes for the Audi Q7 include four new shades: Ibis White, Graphite Gray, metallic, Teak Brown, metallic, and Orca Black, metallic. An aluminum exterior package is optionally available from Audi: gleaming chrome bars in the bumpers and door moldings; the lower portion of the bumpers is painted in the body color; the center portion of the front apron and the diffuser are painted in a contrasting shade.
The interior: Room to spare
Thanks to its luxurious 300-centimeter (118.11-inch) wheelbase within an overall length of 5.09 meters (16.70 feet), the Audi Q7 has interior room to spare, and the interior flexibility is unrivalled. The seatbacks in the second row are divided into three fold-down sections to provide a level cargo floor.
This increases the luggage space from a volume of 775 liters (27.37 cubic feet) to 2,035 liters (71.87 cubic feet). With the leather upholstery option, the middle seat now has an even more comfortable contour.
Two very useful features are optionally available: either a longitudinally displaceable second seat row or individual comfort seats that are separately displaceable. Another available option is a third row for passengers no taller than 1.60 meters (5.25 feet), combined with an improved easy entry function.
A multitude of detailed improvements in the interior enhance the elegance and the sense of well-being. The instrument cluster has been redesigned: the large, round, easily readable instruments are encircled by metallic frames. Interior lights in the door linings and an inlay on the passenger side enhance the interior styling. Many details of the control elements have been restyled and also enhanced by chrome elements.
The selection of interior colors and materials is also new. Upholstery fabrics are available in black and light gray; leather upholstery additionally also in Para Brown, Savannah Beige and Cardamon Beige. Standard inlays are finished in matt black. In optional design packages, aluminum and wood finishes are used.
The power train: Performance and efficiency
The Audi Q7 is available with six powerful and highly efficient direct injection engines, two of them gasoline-powered and four diesel engines, including the world’s most powerful diesel SUV, the Audi Q7 V12 TDI. Their power is transmitted via a convenient and fast-shifting six-speed tiptronic to the quattro permanent all-wheel drive, which distributes it between the axles with slightly more than half to the rear.
The 3.0 TDI puts out 176 kW (240 bhp) and delivers as much as 550 Nm between 2,000 and 2,250 rpm, yet on the EU cycle it consumes only 9.1 liters / 100 km (25.85 US mpg). The optionally available 3.0 TDI clean diesel even consumes 0.2 liters (0.05 US gallons) less.
Despite highly complex exhaust gas recirculation and the resulting world’s cleanest diesel technology, it consumes just 8.9 liters/100 km (26.43 US mpg). It meets the strict LEV II Bin 5 US standard and already complies with the Euro 6 limits announced for 2014.
The technology of the TDI clean diesel is highly complex. An advanced version of the common rail injection system with 2,000 bars of pressure, new combustion chamber sensors and a high-performance exhaust recirculating system ensure a highly efficient combustion process. An innovative DeNOx catalytic converter reduces the remaining nitrogen oxides. Just upstream of it, a pump injects an additive named AdBlue into the hot exhaust flow, where this solution decomposes into ammonia, which splits the nitrogen oxides into harmless nitrogen and water. Audi partners replenish the additive during regular maintenance servicing.
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In the Q7 4.2 TDI too, fuel consumption has been drastically reduced – from 11.1 (21.19 US mpg) to 9.9 liters per 100 km (23.76 US mpg). Yet the V8 diesel is more powerful: with an output of 250 kW (340 bhp) and a torque of 760 Nm, it develops enormous propulsive power. This maximum torque is available in the range from 1,750 to 3,000 rpm.
At Audi, efficiency and dynamics go hand in hand. That’s also the case in gasoline engines. The 3.6 FSI, a V6 with a small cylinder angle, has a power output of 206 kW (280 bhp) and delivers 360 Nm between 2,500 and 5,000 rpm. Its average fuel consumption is 12.1 liters per 100 km (19.44 US mpg). The 4.2 FSI, a V8, delivers 257 kW (350 bhp) and 440 Nm at 3,500 rpm. Its fuel consumption is 12.7 liters/100 km (18.52 US mpg).
A novel technology from the Modular Efficiency Platform further improves fuel efficiency in all the engines: the recovery system, which during braking and coasting phases converts mechanical energy into electric energy and buffer-stores it in the battery. It reduces CO2 emissions by up to 5 g/km (8.05 g/mile).
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